HauteSpot FAQs

Improving the signal strength of a wireless router requires that you look at both ends of your link: your wireless router AND your station (laptop). First, you should determine if you have an interference issue. Use a tool like NetStumbler, VistaStumbler or similar to determine what your signal to noise ratio is. A low ratio (ie low signal and high noise) means that you have some sort of interference. This can be anything from other wireless devices to microwave ovens to cordless phones to heavy machinery.

Next, check your data rates. The higher your data rates, the weaker your overall signal will appear. It takes more energy to send data faster. So data rates are inversely related to transmission power, receive sensitivity and over all range. Forcing your system to use lower data rates can significantly improve your signal, but it will also reduce your throughput.

For instance, if you have a DSL connection that only supports 5Mbps, then it will make very little difference that your wireless link can support 54Mbps. Turn your data rate down to 10Mbps and you will extend your range.

Next, you can increase your range with higher gain antennas. Most consumer access points come with 0 to 4dBi gain antennas. These are cheap and not very well designed. An upgrade antenna of 7 to 9dBi gain will significantly improve your range. The decibel scale is logarithmic, so every few dB of gain added can double the effective power of your system. Passive gain through the use of an antenna is much better than using an amplifier.

On your laptop, you can replace your stock wireless network adapter with a higher gain module. The modules that come with most laptop computers are cheap and low power. You can significantly improve your range by upgrading. BUT, adding a high power wireless module can use much more battery power and significantly reduce the run time of your system on battery power. If you are going mobile you will want to get an extended time battery too.

You can try an amplifier. This is generally a bad idea for many reasons: 1. Amplifiers amplify noise and signal. If you have a high noise level, adding an amplifier may make it even worse; 2. Amplifiers can damage your wireless interfaces by overdriving the front end; 3. Amplifiers generally are not tuned precisely and do not use good cavity filters to reject noise; 4. Amplifiers use a lot of power.

Do not try to over drive your wireless network adapter by setting the transmit gain higher than what the card is designed to support. Yes, there is software to do this, but it is a bad idea. If you have the ability to change your transmit power manually always use this capability to turn down your power from the card default. Turning it up will damage your adapter, it may create unwanted noise, and it can make your configuration illegal.

Finally, you can replace your wireless router with a high gain system like those manufactured by HauteSpot Networks. Our products are designed for long range and high throughput.